SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Happy New Year! With the calendar turning over to 2025, the Sacramento State women's basketball looks to turn over a new leaf with the start of Big Sky Conference play this weekend. The Hornets begin their quest for the league's crown on Saturday (Jan. 4) at 2 p.m., taking on travel partner Portland State on the road in the "Rose City."
GAME #14
WHAT: Sacramento State (7-6, 0-0 Big Sky) at Portland State (3-6, 0-0 Big Sky)
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025
TIME: 2 PM PT
WHERE: Portland, Ore.
ARENA: Viking Pavilion
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: GoViks.com
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | Portland State
ABOUT THE VIKINGS
• Portland State enters the start of Big Sky Conference play with a 3-6 overall record
• The Vikings have lost their last four straight, falling to Air Force at home (69-40) back on Dec. 20
• Portland State's last win came over UC Davis at home on Nov. 30, downing the Aggies, 66-61
• The Vikings and Hornets have three opponents in common: Cal State Fullerton, UC Davis, and Omaha
• Two of Portland State's wins this year have come at home with wins over the Titans and Aggies
• Senior forward Lana Wenger leads the team in scoring at 11.3 ppg, but has not played since Nov. 24 against Cal State Fullerton
• Senior center Rhema Ogele is also in double figures at 10.2 ppg, while leading the team at 8.1 rpg and shooting .519 from the field
SERIES NOTABLES
• Portland State leads the all-time series with Sacramento State, 34-25
• The two teams split a pair of meetings in the regular season last year with each team winning at home
• The Vikings' six-point win in Portland on March 2 snapped a six-game winning streak by the Hornets in the series
• The six-straight wins marked the longest winning streak for Sacramento State in the history of the series dating back to the 1991-92 season
• The Hornets posted a 72-65 win at home earlier in the year on Feb. 3
• Portland State also leads the series, 18-11, in games played in the "Rose City," snapping a two-game skid with last year's victory
FOR OPENERS... BIG SKY STYLE
• Sacramento State opens its 29th year as a Big Sky Conference member on Saturday in Portland
• The Hornets are 8-20 in Big Sky openers dating back to the 1996-97 campaign
• Sacramento State has lost seven of its last eight league openers, posting its only win in that stretch over Portland State on Dec. 31, 2022 by a 65-56 score
• Saturday marks the eighth time that the Hornets and Vikings will open conference play against one another, with Portland State holding a 4-3 lead in that series
• The eight conference openers between the two programs are the most between Sacramento State and any other league member
• The Hornets, however, have won two of the last three league openers against Portland State
• Sacramento State is 4-10 both at home and on the road in Big Sky openers
• Saturday marks the fourth time in the last five seasons that the Hornets will open Big Sky play on the road
• Sacramento State has lost six of the last seven openers away from The Nest dating back to 2014-15
SHOULD AULD ACQUAINTANCE BE FORGOT?
• The Hornets ring in the New Year on the road for the second straight season and the third time in the last five seasons with their game at Portland State
• Unfortunately, Sacramento State has started a new calendar year with a loss in five of the last six post-New Year's Day games and is just 7-26 in its first game after the ball drops in Times Square
JUST WIN, BABY
• The Hornets haven't just been winning to start 2024-25, they've been winning BIG
• All seven of Sacramento State's victories have been by double figures -- five of those by 27 points or more -- following its 27-point win over San Jose State
• The Hornets' last nine triumphs dating back to last season have all been by double digits -- a run that includes a 16-point win at Northern Arizona (Feb. 15) and an 18-point win over Idaho State (March 9) in 2023-24
• Sacramento State's 39-point triumph over Wagner on Dec. 1 was the largest since a 59-point win over Pacific Union on Dec. 19, 2019, and the largest against a Division I opponent since a 48-point triumph over Portland State on Jan. 23, 2016
• The 78 points in the win over Jessup were the most in a season-opener for Sacramento State since an 88-85 win over Cal Poly to tip-off the 2018-19 campaign
• Meanwhile, the 88 points in the win over Lincoln University were the most by the Hornets since a 96-88 loss against Idaho on Feb. 22, 2020
DON'T UNPACK THOSE BAGS
• Saturday's clash with Portland State is the third of five straight games away from home for Sacramento State -- the longest such stretch since the Hornets played seven straight (including one at the Golden 1 Center in Downtown Sacramento) in 2021-22
• All told, Sacramento State will have gone 32 days between home games until Northern Arizona pays a visit to The Nest on Jan. 16, 2025 -- the seventh-largest gap of any team in the nation this year
I'M COMING HOME (KINDA)
• Saturday will be a homecoming of sorts for a pair of Hornets as Vancouver, Wash., natives Jaydia Martin (Hudson's Bay HS) and Katie Peneueta (Heritage HS) play just across the river and mere minutes from their hometown
• Another Washington native, junior Fatoumata Jaiteh, hails from Lynnwood, Wash., and prepped at Meadowdale HS -- a three-hour drive north from the Portland State campus in Downtown Portland
YOU CAN ONLY HOPE TO CONTAIN HER
• Senior Jaydia Martin continues to steamroll her way past the opposition in the scoring column
• Martin has reached double figures in each of her last seven outings, eight of her last nine, and nine of her 13 games overall this year
• After averaging 15.0 ppg during the Hornets' trip to New Mexico before the holiday, Martin is averaging 17.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and 2.7 apg, while shooting .495 (47-for-95) overall
• As a result, she has raised her season scoring average more than four full points from 9.3 ppg on Nov. 20 to a team-high 13.8 ppg entering this week's games
• Over her last nine (dating back to Nov. 17 vs. Long Beach State), she is averaging 15.4 ppg while shooting .430 (52-for-121) from the floor
• More than three-quarters (139) of her 179 points have come in her last nine contests
BLOCK YOU VERY MUCH
• After being sidelined for two weeks due to injury, senior Katie Peneueta came back with a 16-point effort against New Mexico prior to the holiday, but it was her work on the defensive end a day later against Abilene Christian that opened some eyes
• Peneueta finished with a game-high six blocks in the team's second meeting with the Wildcats this season -- tallying the highest total by a Big Sky player this year
• The total, however, was not a career high as the Vancouver, Wash., native had seven swats -- and nearly a triple-double -- in a win over Idaho on Jan. 5, 2023, adding 11 points and 11 rebounds in 39 minutes against the Vandals
• Peneueta's six blocks against Abilene Christian rank tied for eighth on the school's single-game list, three off the record of 10 set by Heidi Carroll against San Francisco State on Feb. 21, 1983
SHE'S JUST KATIE FROM THE BLOCK
• Peneueta's six blocks against ACU gave her seven for the season and 70 for her career, moving her past Sephora Scoubes (67 from 1999-01) into eighth place on the school's all-time list
• Next in Peneueta's sights: former teammate Isnelle Natabou (2021-23) is seventh on the list with 71, Natasha Torgerson (2009-13) is sixth with 72
• With 30 more swats this season Peneueta would become only the sixth Hornet to reach the century mark in school history and the first since Kennedy Nicholas finished with 173 from 2016-20
DELICIOUS DISH
• Senior guard Benthe Versteeg was finding teammates for baskets with pinpoint accuracy during the Hornets' trip to New Mexico, averaging 8.5 apg in the two games
• Finishing with eight against the host Lobos and a season-high nine more against Abilene Christian, the 17 helpers in the two games matched her output in the category from her previous four games combined
• The senior now has 64 assists on the season -- a total that leads the Big Sky entering this week -- and now has 302 for her career, moving her past Kylie Kuhns (297 from 2009-13) and into sixth on the all-time list
• Versteeg needs 10 more to match Justice Dawson (312 from 2014-18) for fifth
• Following her performances in New Mexico, Versteeg now has eight games with at least five assists this year and 36 of those in her career
• Versteeg's career total ranks as the second-most among active players in the Big Sky, trailing only Montana State's Esmeralda Morales (327)
LOOK FOR THE HELPERS
• Versteeg (2nd) and teammate Sofia Alonso (t7th) give the Hornets two of the top-10 playmakers in the Big Sky entering this week's conference openers
• Sacramento State is one of three schools that have two players among the top 10 in assists along with Northern Arizona (Leia Beattie and Taylor Feldman) and Idaho (Hope Hassmann and Olivia Nelson)
• Senior Jaydia Martin (2.46 apg), gives the Hornets three in the top 20 -- the only school to accomplish that feat entering this week's league lid-lifters
• Versteeg (5.33 apg) trails only Montana's Mack Konig (5.45) in this week's standings, while Alonso (3.33 apg) is tied with Montana State's Esmeralda Morales
THREE IS MORE THAN TWO
• In 56 career games with the Hornets, Peneueta has made a living from long distance, sinking 137 of her 153 career field goals from beyond the three-point line
• As a freshman, only four of her 60 makes were from closer than 22 feet, 1 3/4 inches while, as a sophomore, she doubled that output, making eight two-pointers out of her 79 total baskets
• This year, 10 of Peneueta's 14 makes have been from long distance, shooting a team-high .476 from three-point range entering the week
THE "PEN"-EUETA IS MIGHTIER
• Thanks to those 137 makes from beyond the arc, Peneueta stands only five three-point makes away from breaking into the school's all-time top 10, closing in on Sarah Stapp (142 from 1992-96) in 10th place
• Her career .460 (137-for-298) three-point percentage would also be a record if the season ended today
• Peneueta also holds the top two single-season three-point marks in school history (minimum 25 three-pointers made), shooting a school-record .463 (56-for-121) as a freshman in 2021-22 and a second-best mark of .455 (71-for-156) in her sophomore season a year later during the Hornets' Big Sky championship season
FALK THIS WAY
• Falk returned to her double-digit scoring ways with 14 points against Abilene Christian in New Mexico prior to the holidays, giving her nine double-digit contests this season to match teammate Jaydia Martin for the team lead
• That streak includes the sophomore's first career double-double as Falk posted 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds at Omaha on Dec. 7
• The 11 rebounds are tied for the most by a Hornet this year, joining Benthe Versteeg's 11 boards against Long Beach State on Nov. 17
• Falk became the first Hornet to hit the 20-point plateau this season, finishing with a career-high 20 points on the nose against Long Beach State
• She either tied or set a new career high in scoring three times in the first five games this season and has shot better than 40 percent from the field seven times - including each of the last three
• Falk's 8-of-10 performance from the field against Lincoln marked the most makes in a game by a Hornet since Benthe Versteeg finished 8-of-14 in a win at Northern Arizona on Feb. 15, 2024
DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP)... DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP)
• Despite the Hornets' challenges during their trip to New Mexico, Sacramento State still stands as one of the top defenses in the Big Sky as conference play begins
• The Hornets enter the week ranked second in the field in field goal percentage defense (.379), third in scoring defense (59.4 ppg), and fifth in three-point percentage defense (.305)
• Sacramento State is one of three schools allowing fewer than 60 points per game along with Montana State (54.8 ppg) and Idaho (56.3 ppg)
• The Hornets have also forced 260 turnovers on the season -- second only to Montana State's 279
YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN
• Thanks to the Hornets' win over San Jose State back on Dec. 15, Sacramento State improved to 5-1 within the friendly confines of The Nest this season, winning for the eighth time in their last 11 contests at home dating back to last year
• The five wins in six games at home to start the year is the program's best start at The Nest since the 2022-23 squad opened 7-1 through its first eight games
• This year's start also surpassed last year's home win total and marked the seventh time in the school's Division I history that Sacramento State has opened with at least five home wins in its first six games on its home floor
PUT A LID ON IT
• In holding San Jose State to just 39 points back on Dec. 15, it marked the second time this season -- and the first time in the program's Division I history -- that the Hornets have held two opponents to fewer than 40 points in a single season (Wagner finished with just 34 on Dec. 1)
• The 34 points allowed to Wagner were the fewest surrendered in a game in the program's Division I history and the fewest by a Sacramento State opponent since a 78-29 win over Concordia College on Nov. 22, 1990
• The 39 points scored by the Spartans were tied for the third fewest in the program's Division I history, matching a 45-39 win over New Mexico State on Dec. 31, 2004
• Overall from the field, Wagner shot just .245 (12-for-49) for the game, which stands as the lowest by a Hornet opponent since Pacific Union shot the same percentage in the aforementioned 2019 meeting and the lowest by a Division I opponent in the program's Division I history
• Prior to making the jump to the Division I level, one would have to go all the way back to Feb. 12, 1991, to find a lower percentage by a Sacramento State opponent as the Hornets held Cal State East Bay to just .239 (16-for-68) shooting in an 81-38 win
• Along with the 40 points allowed to Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 14, three of the five fewest opponent point totals in the program's Division I history have come this year
• Of the top 15 lowest point totals by an opponent in that same stretch, 10 of those have come at The Nest
SWIPER, NO SWIPING!
• After leading the team with 58 steals last season, Versteeg's two against Abilene Christian in New Mexico marked her eighth multi-steal game this year
• Meanwhile, both Martin and sophomore Lina Falk have six such games, followed by Alonso with five more
• The Hornets' defense has accounted for 130 steals -- including seven games with double-digits in that category following the 10 swipes at New Mexico
• Last year, Sacramento State finished with 10-or-more steals in a game only five times
• The Hornets enter the week ranked third in the Big Sky in both overall steals and steals per game (10.0 spg), standing as one of only three schools with 100 swipes on the season
• Four Hornets rank among the top 15 in steals in the Big Sky entering the week -- Versteeg is sixth (1.83 spg), Alonso is tied for ninth (1.67), Martin is 14th (1.73), and Falk stands tied for 15th (1.38 spg)
SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT COMBINATION
• Sacramento State's starting five opened the year with some stability, putting the same five players on the floor to tip-off the first five games of the season
• However, since then, illness and injury have joined forces to throw a wrench into the Hornet lineup as Sacramento State has used seven different starting five's over its last eight games
• In those eight games, only the lineup of Versteeg, Alonso, Falk, Martin, and Fatoumata Jaiteh has been used more than once
